Harry Potter and the Fight For Freedom
by Sir Firmen
Summary: Following the death of Sirius and the fiasco at the Ministry, Harry must make a choice: to let others dictate his life, or to seize control in order to survive the war. AU,5th yr,NOSLASH,No pairings decided Ron Dumbledore bashing Independent! Manipulative
1. Revelations

**Disclaimer: Obviously I am not attempting to make money off of this. If I was, it most certainly would not be published on FanFiction.**

**A/N: I have been reading ff for a couple of years and finally got around to attempting to write my own. I have no illusions of being a great author, and as such, am looking for a beta. Please let me know how you like this story and if you want me to continue writing by reviewing. Thanks!**

Harry stood looking out his window brooding. Just where exactly had his life went wrong? Was it when he told the hat to put him in Griffindor because of a person he knew next to nothing about? Was it when his parents were brutally murdered and he surviving? Was it because his godfather died not a month ago? Or, he thought darkly, was it when that barmy old bat gave the so-called prophecy? No, the main cause for his current state, he decided, boiled down to Harry letting others rule his life.

He realized that too many people were discreetly pulling his strings as if he was a puppet and it needed to stop. The Order had no less than three guards patrolling Number 4 Private Drive at all times under invisibility cloaks, one of which Harry was sure belonged to him as Dumbledore had "borrowed" it last term and failed to return it claiming that the "Order had a greater need for it this summer". Even more so, Harry was stuck at his little "safe" version of Hell and continually returned there every year like a docile sheep! He was revolted at himself, how could he let everyone else script out his every action and imprison him nearly year-round! He was thoroughly sick of it and very briefly angered at himself but then realized that it wouldn't do him any good in his current situation.

He was presently locked in his room, if it could be called that, and his school supplies along with his wand were locked in his previous room, the cupboard under the stairs. He was treated better than normal, but that still wasn't saying much. He was fed the leftovers from every meal but had not been able to choke anything down. He had mostly brooded about Sirius, and how bad his life was. The surprising thing was that even after not eating for a few days, he felt much more alert and was actually thinking straight instead of his usual uncaring attitude. Before, he knew there was no real point to his angst, but continued to do it anyway. It was because of this change in attitude and mindset that he had begun this train of thought.

Although Harry had sent out countless letters to his friends, Hedwig always returned with no reply. Even letters to Florish and Blotts looking to owl-order books were not returned. It was starting to get to him, and had he been in his normal state of mind, he knew he would have forgiven his friends like it never happened at the beginning of school. Not now. Harry Potter was not going to be complacent anymore, He vowed to live his life how he wanted it to be, and nothing more or less would suffice. Had he opened his eyes while saying that, he would have noticed a light bursting out of him, and then slowly get absorbed by his body.

With that, Harry opened his eyes and felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, he felt like he really could take control of his life. He began to plan. If he wanted control, then he first needed to get out from the combined oppression of Dumbledore, the Order, and the Dursleys.

* * *

Dumbledore took one last look around his office at Hogwarts, and gathered up the rest of his belongings. He had packed everything that he thought he would need for the summer, as he was moving to Number 12 Grimmauld Place for the summer, and was locking the school down so that nothing and nobody could get in. It was the only way, he thought, that it would survive a full-scale attack from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. As he scanned the recently broken, and even more recently repaired silver trinkets, he selected the essential ones. His hand hovered over another, but it had yet to so much as twitch in the past 16 years, so he left it, sure it would continue to be immobile. He left his office and calmly walked to the front gates of Hogwarts. He had made sure that the elves had cleared everybody out and had enough food for the rest of the summer. Then he lifted his wand, let the wards recognize him as the Headmaster, and put the castle into hibernation. With one last look back, he called Fawks, and flashed to the Headquarters of the Order of the Pheonix. Not ten seconds after doing so, that same instrument that he almost took suddenly started spinning and exploded taking out the remainder of the instruments, causing an indecipherable pile of twisted silver on Dumbledore's desk.

* * *

Harry sat on his bed concentrating. He had been sitting in this position for almost the entire night trying to open an old lock that had been on one of Dudleys broken safes. This one had a dent in the unbreakable top from when Dudley stepped on it to reach the top shelf in the fridge, rendering it useless, and unable to open. Harry had tried to pick the lock but only ended up with broken pieces of wire. He then realized that he would be absolutely stuck here without wandless magic, and remembering how he had done it before, attempted that. He had been going at it getting more and more frustrated. He tried every way he could think of, waving his arm like a wand, yelling "_Alohamora_" and thinking his hardest about unlocking the lock. Finally in frustration, he yelled, "Damn it! Just open!" and felt his magic shift. The lock opened, along with every other door, window and cabinet in his room. Harry quickly closed his bedroom door to avoid getting found out and sat down in front of the safe. In it was birthday money for Dudley that he had never seen because he broke it when his couldn't open it with his pudgy fingers. Harry took the money and hid it under the loose floorboard, along with the Mauraders map and a bit of chocolate, the only things that were in his pockets when he returned from school. He would get his school supplies back tonight and hopefully leave without anyone knowing any better. Until then, he would see what other spells he could get with wandless magic.

* * *

That night, Harry crept out of his room. He had mastered a couple of simple spells like _Accio_ and _Lumos_, and now used the latter as he went through the house. The lock on the cupboard took merely a thought to click open and his trunk was right where he remembered it, thrown uncaringly into the corner, his firebolt, noticeably missing, was still at Hogwarts. It was third on his list to get, right after escaping and finding a safe place. Harry quickly grabbed his belongings, and packed the rest of his clothes, noting that he would need to get clothes that actually fit him. He wrote a quick not to his relatives to stop checking on him and stop giving him food, locked his room, and quietly opened the back door. He sprinted as quietly as he could to the bushes, and hopped over the fence to the neighbor's yard. He hailed a taxi, and headed off towards the safest place other than Hogwarts: Gringotts.

* * *

Dumbledore leisurely stretched while he watched the rest of the Order bicker like cats about the newest development in their war. It was actually all his war, but nobody else knew that. He loved being in power and it was especially gratifying the way others jumped at his every command. He raised a hand and everyone immediately was silenced."It has come to my attention that some of you are less than happy with the living arrangements of Harry Potter"

"Yeah-"Fred said.

"He's miserable!" agreed Remus

Again Dumbledore held out his hand and all were quiet. Although he frowned that it took much longer than usual for some of the members, most notably, the Weasely twins and Remus Lupin. "Harry is the safest at his relatives and because of the blood wards, cannot be touched by Voldemort or his minions. Everywhere else, even as saddened as I am to say it, Hogwarts, has allowed Voldemort to nearly rip Harry from our grasp. He must be protected!"

With that, all accepted his word without further argument, although the twins and Lupin wore mutinous glares. It would be good to watch out for those three. The meeting went on other things like recruiting in the Auror ranks and somehow stopping Voldemort.

After the meeting was over the twins discreetly told Remus that they had a prank to show him at their shop. They led him to the back room and poured a bottle of Firewhiskey.

"We need to get Harry out of there!" Remus exclaimed.

"It shouldn't be that hard, considering the competency of those guarding him, he could have probably walked out the front door in broad daylight and they still wouldn't have noticed him." Fred replied.

"Yeah, we've rescued him before, remember in our third year?" George said.

"Mmhmm, although I doubt a flying car will go unnoticed this time." Fred replied.

"Although, with Dung, you never know…"

"Alright, so here's the plan, I wasn't the brains behind the Mauraders greatest pranks for nothing…"


	2. What my enemies couldn't do

**Disclaimer: Nothing but the plot is mine**

**A/N: I have written a couple of chapters so far, and decided to post the first three at once, and if I get good responses, I will post the rest on a weekly schedule.**

Harry stood outside the doors of Gringotts with a dark cloak on, surprised to see the lights on, he looked for their hours. He saw a sign that under "Hours" merely said "always open". After glancing around to make sure he wasn't being followed, he walked in. There was a lone Goblin "working" very hard studying his eyelids as he walked up. He kicked the desk to awaken it and the Goblin sneered and made him wait five minutes before even looking up.

"I need to go to my vault but I've lost my key", Harry said as the goblin continued trying to intimidate him, which promptly failed as Harry read his nametag that said "Littletooth".

"Well that's not my problem, the Key Renewal office opens at noon." the Littletooth sneered

"If 100 Galleons makes its way to your desk, can you make it your problem?" Harry asked slowly.

The Goblin's face immediately lit up and said, "Of course sir! Right this way, meeting room three is open."

Harry followed Littletooth into the room and sat opposite him. "Now sir, we will need a drop of your blood on this paper which will tell us the vaults that are available to you."

Harry pricked his finger and let a drop of blood drip onto the paper and watched in fascination as it slowly formed words.

_Name: Harry James Potter_

_Vaults: _

_**Potter Trust Vault**_

_Potter Family Vault_

_Black Family Vault_

_Black Trust Vault_

_Hogwarts Vault_

The goblin looked with astonishment at the paper. "Why didn't you tell me your name, my lord?" he exclaimed

Harry nearly had a heart attack as he saw the Black Vaults. Harry ignored the question and instead asked "Why do I have Sirius's money?"

"The late Lord Black had named you his sole beneficiary and heir, as such there was no need for a will or a ridiculous will reading ceremony like others prefer."

"Oh," Harry said glumly "How much money is in each vault and why is my trust vault different?"

"The Potter Trust Vault holds a maximum of 1 million galleons that is refilled on your birthday every year until you are 17, the Potter Family Vault holds about 600 million galleons and is doing quite well with stocks in Nimbus, Zonkos, and various other businesses. The Black Trust Vault now works the same the Potter one, and the Black Family Vault holds 15 billion galleons. The Hogwarts Vault has been locked since the founders died and as such, no one knows what is inside of it. We do know however, that it is the first and largest vault in Gringotts and probably is worth double all of the other vaults combined. As for your Trust Vault, it has a hold on it that alerts its manager see all of the transactions and even make withdrawals."

"And who might this manager be?" Harry demanded angrily.

"One, Albus Dumbledore" replied Littletooth.

"How might I get this hold taken off? And can I see all of the withdrawals made in the last 16 years?"

"Unfortunately this is a semi-permanent hold that can only be taken off once you reach your majority. There have been numerous transactions made in the past 16 years totaling over 10 million galleons, these have gone to various places including Dumbledore's private vault, the Order of the phoenix, and the Dursley's. The reasons given for each transaction were the same, for your upbringing and the greater good."

"So if I make any withdrawal, Dumbledore will know about it?"

"Well he would know now, because you are a minor and only have access to your trust vault, but because of the late Sirius Black, you now merely have to sign your name here accepting your inheritance and emancipation and you will have unrestricted access to both of the Black Vaults, the Potter Family Vault and the Hogwarts Vault. He would still monitor your Trust Vault, but will have no knowledge of your other vaults. The emancipation document is required to be filed both here and at the ministry, and so it will be no secret."

"Is there any way for me to ensure certain parties are not able to see this information?"

"Well….if that 100 galleons suddenly turned into 200 galleons, I am sure we can lose this copy in the heaps of paperwork and file it as soon as it is found, say in September?"

"Make it June of next year and you have a deal"

"Done"

Harry signed his name and the document flashed a golden color. Littletooth put the paper in a folder marked June, and then took out two boxes. "These are the Black and Potter Family Rings, they have mild shield charms on them and when wearing them, the head of the house can always tell when a family member is untruthful or traitorous."

Harry took both of the rings and put the Potter ring on his right and the Black one on his left. The Goblin then took out another, ancient looking box. "This is the pendant of Hogwarts; it will need to be worn inside the castle walls to call its attention to its newest heir. The castle will then recognize you as its master and answer to you above all else."

He reverently put it on and said "Alright, let's go to my vaults."

* * *

Ronald Weasley was having a great summer. He was at the Burrow, Hermione was due to come the next day, and played Quiddich every day. His parents were both extremely busy with Order duties and so apart from the occasional gnome tossing; he was not assigned many chores. He didn't even have Potter there to take the spotlight away from him. There was no way he could continue to act friendly towards him when all Harry deserved was the same fate as his parents. And he was already well on the way there, with Voldemort planning to kill him every step of the way, and, thanks to an overheard conversation, Ron knew that Dumbledore was planning on letting him die at the opportune moment. Then, the Weaselys, his closest friends and almost family, would be surely be rewarded with his money. Ahh, the thought of that was almost as sweet as the thought of how he could use that money to impress Hermione, even if it didn't work, he could easily buy a top-of-the-line love potion. One way or another, she was going to be his. Yes, life was good for Ronald Weasely.

* * *

"Hermione! We're home!"Her parents drunkenly shouted.

Hermione sighed; they didn't drink often, but when they did, they went all out. She sighed again when she thought of her two friends. She was mostly worried about Harry and his reactions to Sirius. Harry was the strongest wizard she'd met-when he actually applied himself, but emotionally, he had no experience at all thanks to those dreadful relatives of his. Ron mildly disgusted her with his eating habits, studying habits and tactlessness, but those she was able to ignore for the most part and when she couldn't ignore him, he was a perfect way to vent without fear of offending him. Harry usually just followed Ron's lead and procrastinated on all of his assignments. Hopefully she could get both of them to listen to her when she went to the Burrow tonight. She sighed for a third time when she heard glass breaking from downstairs and went to try and get her parents to bed before the portkey activated.

She redoubled her steps when she heard them scream. She raced into the kitchen to find three Death Eaters torturing her parents. She immediately ducked down to avoid a _Crucio_ herself and mentally thanked harry for all the training last year.

"Finish them! Get the girl!" said a Death Eater who was obviously their leader.

"_Avada Kedavra_" both said at the same time.

Hermione was in shock. Her only family had just been brutally murdered, and now their killers were after her. She started to run up the stairs but tripped in her haste. The first Death Eater caught sight of her and moments later, a concussion hex hit her in the back of the head.

"Give up mudblood, there are already anti-apparation wards up. You cannot escape!"

Not bothering with an answer, she did the last thing any of them expected: she threw her wand at them and scrambled up the stairs. It hit the first one in the face, causing and angry red mark to appear. Drunkenly stumbling to her room, she closed the door and proceeded to trip on her trunk. The Death Eater burst into the room and found her sprawled on the trunk. He smirked. "_Submissivo!_"

Hermione immediately recognized the curse which was used to influence people like a nicer version of the Imperious. She knew she didn't have time to dodge it and instead snatched the portkey off the floor, disappearing seconds after it hit.

"Oh Hermione what happened to you!?" Mrs. Weasely exclaimed as Hermione appeared in the kitchen with blood covering the back of her head.

"Death Eaters…" she said with a glazed look in her eyes.

"Oh My! Are you alright? Where are your parents?"

"I am fine. They are dead." Hermione said robotically.

"Here dear, let me heal this little cut and then off to bed with you!"

"Yes…"

"Here is a dreamless sleep potion, take it now, and I'll send Ron up with sheets for your bed."

"Yes…Mrs. Weasely…"

* * *

Ron was beyond excited, Hermione was finally here! And she was hurt! He finally had his chance to prove to her that he wasn't useless. He carefully carried up clean linens for her bed and entered without knocking.

"Hermione?" Ron asked tentatively, "Are you alright?"

Hermione just moaned sleepily in response. She tried to find the strength to sit up but it had left her. Ron lifted her onto the bed.

"Hermione, I've been thinking a lot and I've decided that we are going to be together. I know you have your little crush on Harry, but it will fade eventually. I want you Hermione. Won't you say you want me?"

"Yes…" she said, looking like it was the last thing in the world she wanted to say. "…I…want…you…" she struggled out.

Ron's face lit up and with lust-filled eyes, started kissing her as the dreamless sleep potion kicked in…


	3. The Rescue

**Disclaimer: I am a mere mortal playing in JKR's universe.**

**A/N: If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. You review, and I'll keep posting. Also when you review, feel free give me a link to your own story, and I guarantee I will read and review it also. Thanks!**

Harry followed Littletooth to the cart. "To my Family Vault please"

Without a word or any visible command from the goblin, the cart sped forward. This trip took longer than any other before it. They went deeper and deeper, until they reached a Vault door that merely said "Vault 22, Potter".

"The handle on the door has a blade on it. You must cut your hand and very quickly draw the rune for 'open' on the door, then you must spin around in a circle and say your name until the door opens."

"You're having me on, there's no way you have to do all of that!"

The goblin looked disappointed. "Alternately, you may open the door with the hand the Potter Ring is on, and it will open."

Rolling his eyes, Harry pushed past the goblin and opened the vault. It creaked slowly open and without warning a burst of warm air came wooshing out of it. He looked around expectantly.

"What? Were you hoping some long lost relative was in here, or paintings of your parents? Or something equally as idiotic as that?" asked the goblin smirking evilly.

"Of course not, I was merely expecting something other than just gold."

"Well if you took a second to actually look around, there's a list of everything in here by the door. And before you even ask, because it always happens, yes we do have bottomless-bags and muggle credit cards."

"It says here that I only have gold in the vault."

"Honestly! Humans these days! Is this not a bank? …What? Were you expecting something ridiculous in here like clothing, suits of armor and furniture?"

"No I guess not…"

"Those would all be at your home, which burned down when you were a baby."

"Your parents weren't big spenders; they barely had time to with the war going on."

"Oh…yeah, can we go to my other vaults now?"

"Of course my Lord"

The remainder of the vaults were much the same except the Hogwarts Vault. When they reached the vault, the goblin said, "Now what you have to do is danc-"

"Dance like a chicken, stop drop and roll, and attempt to hump the door until it opens?" Harry interrupted

"No, nothing like that, you merely have to put the pendant of Hogwarts into the key hole." The goblin replied, muttering about humans and their imaginations.

Harry opened the door and it contained, along with more gold than the entire wizarding world could use in 10 lifetimes and exotic looking items he couldn't even begin to comprehend, the original copy of _Hogwarts a History,_ a few priceless books written by the founders, and a portrait of all four of them. It wasn't moving Harry observed 'must be too old to have been animated'. Nevertheless, he took the books, but left the painting as it would do nothing but get in the way until he found a place for it.

"Would it be possible to see all of the properties I own?"

"Of course Lord Potter-Black"

"Why do you call me that?"

"That's your official title."

"Oh, it seems mildly cliché, but I like it."

"Here is a list of all your properties, and if a little extra gold was found on my desk, say 30 galleons, I would be willing to let it slip that there are certain charms on them that you might want to be aware of."

"I can lose 20 for the information and another 30 if you remove it for me if you can do that and remove them for me."

"Ah, 20 is good, but we cannot do that, for on all but one of your properties there is the Fidelius charm, all created in the past 10 years, and on the other there is an extremely strong monitoring charm that is tied directly to Albus Dumbledore. We do not know who the secret keepers are for the other properties but I would wager on a certain headmaster that gets it off from manipulating people."

"Ahh, but I only see two properties on this list."

"That is another affect of the Fidelius, you obviously know where one of them is, and the other is the one with the monitoring charm."

"Do you know any safe places to stay?"

"Do I look like a travel agent? I would let you be my foot stool in the bank, or wait, how about the theastral dung pile at Hogwarts." Littletooth said maturely.

"That's a great idea! Right after I voluntarily sell myself as an indentured servant to Voldemort!" But it gave Harry a thought, there were places in Hogwarts that not even the Headmaster or the Mauraders Map could find. He smirked, at the thought of hiding right under the Order's nose.

* * *

"Albus," Snape said as he caught his breath, "I do not understand why you tolerate such foolish immaturity. Smashing up your office? What next? A temper-tantrum?"

"Severus, Harry is extremely volatile right now, and although I am very angry with him, if he didn't vent, he might have gotten angry enough to do something rash and dangerous." Dumbledore said as he lay down.

"And nothing must harm the perfect little potter."

"Enough Severus, you know as well as I do the reasons I have for keeping him docile and suppressed. If it weren't for that potion and the binding on his magic, he would have caused much more mayhem than even his father and group of friends managed."

"Are you sure it was wise to use a potion that requires to be continually taken? I mean even fasting for more than 24 hours has been known to be detrimental to its effects, and the binding could be broken if his magic grew too fast or even if a first year hit him with a stunner in just the right spot!"

"Yes but that is why I cursed the Dursleys to mistreat him and feed him nothing but scraps of bread and cheese laced with the potion, ensured Harry had a compulsion to eat, and added a mildly addicting agent to it. I told the house elves it is medicine and to put it in everything he eats. The malnourishment also caused his magic to be diverted to survival, which caused it to never even touch the limits of the binding. Also, Harry looks to me for guidance as I have positioned myself to be a parent, or grandparent, if you will, figure in his life."

"I still don't see why we couldn't have transfigured him into a house elf and turned him back when it was time for him to die."

"Hagrid said that Sirius found him first, and has a (figuratively and literally) big mouth, especially when drinking. Luckily we were able to blame the 'murder' of Pettigrew on him, or else we would have nearly no control over him. Had we gotten to him first, I would have said it was a tragic accident that all of the Potters died but a miracle that Voldemort was vanquished. By the time Sirius had gotten himself thrown in prison, The blood wards had already been erected and no one with intent to kill him could get in, including myself."

Snape gave a noncommittal grunt, and their discussion turned to less serious matters.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall walked pensively towards the neat rows of perfectly manicured lawns. After the most recent Order meeting, she had been thinking about none other than Harry Potter. She vaguely remembered seeing him the night his parents were killed although her memories were somewhat foggy. She transformed into a cat and padded to the stone wall. Suddenly she had a flash of Dejavu…she remembered little flashes..."the worst sort of muggles"…All of her memory of that night came flooding back to her, including her warning to Dumbledore and, as she turned around to apparate, the words _Obliviate_. "Dumbledore!" she screeched, but it came out more like a hiss due to her current form. She made her decision and, telling the other guards she was merely going to check on Harry, set off to bust him out of there.

* * *

That night saw three hooded figures circling Number 4 Private Drive carrying bulky packages.

"Alright, you both know the plan, the blood wards are the weakest at the very top, and so we merely have to overload them in order to slip through unnoticed. This wouldn't work if we intended Harry any harm, but should work for our purposes."

"And if it doesn't?"

"We probably get kicked out of the Order, lose most of our friends, and get our memories modified. No pressure though."

"Yeah, none at all."

"Earmuffs on?"

"Check"

"Check"

Remus gave the thumbs up sign and they all pulled their juvenile mandrakes out and dropped them. They immediately dove after them through the tiny hole that opened up in the wards. There was a slight resistance, but they got through.

"Alright, this is his window." Fred whispered

"_Alohamora_"

"Harry?"

Hearing no answer, Remus's face fell, "I guess we're going inside"

* * *

Minerva had quite easily jumped through an open window and crept upstairs. She mentally cursed when she saw the locked door, but then her eye caught the cat flap. She went inside. The animagus froze in fear as she saw three hooded figures enter through the window. She knew she was outnumbered, and her only hope was back through the cat flap. She was about to bolt when one noticed her and said "I never knew Harry had a cat"

"He doesn't, only an owl."

"Boys, we are here for a reason."

She narrowed her eyes, she'd know those voices anywhere having heard them in detention often enough. She immediately transformed and harshly whispered "Fred, George, Remus, what the hell are you doing here?"

All three froze in fear as they heard the voice of their former Head of House. George recovered first.

"Uhh, surprise birthday party for Harry?"

"Almost three weeks early? I doubt it"

"Look professor, we came here because Harry needs our help. We do not believe that Dumbledore has his best intentions at heart." Fred said passionately.

"We cannot let you keep him here against his will." George added.

"My reason for coming here was not to stop you, in fact, it is quite the opposite. I have learned some disturbing things involving our esteemed headmaster. He put a memory charm on me so I would not remember how horrid these muggles were, and how much I was against putting him here. "

"Why don't we finish this discussion later, at a better time and place?" Remus suggested.

"Harry isn't here." Fred said urgently after he checked the bed.

"Search the room, there has got to be some trace of him." Minerva commanded.

"Nothing!"

"Nothing here!"

"Wait here's a note to the Order!"

They all crowded around Fred as he read the note that was left.

_Dear Order AKA Dumbledore,_

_I am fed up with being treated like dirt. I refuse to comply with your absurd and dubious actions. I have left Private Drive of my own free will and will not return no matter what you do. I have left here on the first of July, and you haven't noticed, nor has Voldemort. It is still up for debate over which school I will choose to attend next September, and you would do well to remember that. As incompetent as your Order is by letting me escape, they would be wasting their time looking for me. Yes, I know this sounds hypocritical, but I know that more than the three stationed around my house would be searching for me if it word got out that I had broken out of jail._

_Free at last, _

_Harry J Potter_

_P.S. to prove I am me, you told me you saw wool socks when standing in front of the mirror in first year._

"Wow…" Remus said

"He really pulled the wool over everybody's eyes on that one." George added

"He's a natural." Fred agreed

"Regardless, of the fact that we had nothing to do with it, our mission is complete, and we should leave before we are caught here!" Minerva hissed.

"Right! Let's go," Remus said and she watched as the three hooded figures wiggles out of the window, and flew off, into the night. She returned to her post outside, and at Tonk's and Kingsley's questioning look, she merely said, "He's fine.


	4. Runaways and Shopping

**Disclaimer: I am not making any money**

**A/N: If you would be willing to Beta Please let me know!**

Hermione woke up to the sound of snoring. She hurt all over. It especially hurt on her chest, and in between her legs. It was even hard to breathe, as if a giant weight was on her. She tried to open her eyes, but it was still too hard. Mumbling was coming from somewhere in the room, but she couldn't understand it. She tried again and was able to open her eyes and sit up a bit. Everything was so blurry. The last thing she could remember was her parents drinking and then...Death Eaters! Her parents! She started sobbing uncontrollably. Suddenly the enormous weight pressing down on her lifted and it started speaking to her.

"Hermione? You're finally awake! Why are you crying? Let your boyfriend give you some more of his _personal_ medicine. I'm sure it will feel even better the second time" The voice said.

'Boyfriend, I don't have a boyfriend…and what does he mean a second time?' Hermione thought as her vision started to clear. She saw the very familiar mass of red hair and felt his hands go to places she _never_ _ever_ wanted his to, and it all clicked. She scrambled out of bed, tripping yet again over her trunk. She snatched Ron's wand from the floor and fled the room. Only half aware of her near nakedness, she screamed as she ran downstairs and out the door into muggle London.

"Hermione?" Mrs. Weasely's face appeared from the kitchen.

"She left mum" Ron said stupidly. "And she stole my wand!" Both of them ran to the door and looked around.

"She just disappeared! She could be hurt! Who know what kinds of things people will do to her out there! " Ron exclaimed.

"She must still be affected from the deaths of her parents. Her home was attacked last night. I'm sure she will be back as soon as she realizes she is safe."

"She was attacked? Why didn't she say so?"

"You didn't know? What were you two talking about the whole night?"

"She agreed to be my girlfriend! I am going to find her and bring her back."

"No you will not young man, you are underage and unarmed! We will alert Professor Dumbledore and he will send out search parties. Now come in here, your breakfast is getting cold."

Ron was angered that he was missing his wand, but he was not altogether worried about Hermione, she would come back to him, after all, he was a fantastic lover, or so he claimed to be. Eventually his hunger won over the little concern he had and followed him mum into the kitchen.

* * *

Harry Potter walked out of Gringotts with his new moneybag. He knew that he would have to survive on his own, and would have to purchase quite a few things to do so. First stop, he decided, was to be the trunk store. He put on the hood of his cloak, walked down the Ally and stopped at the first shop in Knockturn Ally: Curiosity Containers for All. As he entered, a chime rang from somewhere in the store.

"Coming!" said a jovial old man who refused to be the stereotypical store owner and look down on people who look poor.

"Hello. I am in need of a trunk."

"What kind of trunk are you looking for? We have the standard school trunk, the double sized interior trunks, and the compartmental trunks. What is your budget?"

"Money is no issue. I most certainly want the compartment ones!" Harry said, "I need a trunk with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, potions lab, study, dueling room, and a standard compartment. Do you have any of the 7 lock trunks like that?"

"Yes, but the ministry only allows Aurors to have trunks with more than two." The man said with a grimace.

"Would a little bit of extra gold let me buy one?"

"Haha! No sonny, I'm sorry. I like that you are willing to go above the law even if I can't. "Although I don't know why anyone would want those outdated models, when I could just set up a compartment as a house and have it contain all of those things anyways. I'll tell you what, I'll give you a two compartment trunk with all of your specifications and I'll add a security feature. How does that sound?"

"Fantastic! How big can you make the inside of the house compartment? And how much do they normally cost?"

"Theoretically, there is no limit, but the limiting factor is power. By myself, I can make a room about the size of a classroom. I get around this by prepowering these diamonds with the correct charms on days that I am not working on an order. If I drained them all and exhausted myself, I could make a compartment nearly the size of the Hogwarts grounds. Most do not buy trunks larger than double the size of a normal one because of the cost. When I charge a diamond, I completely exhaust myself, and so I cannot do anymore work that day. A classroom sized trunk would cost about 1000 galleons, whereas using them all would be about 400,000 galleons."

"How much would it be for a house with a Quidditch pitch outside?"

"That depends on how high you want the ceiling to be. If I made it regulation sized, and had the ceiling go a little bit higher than snitches are charmed to, it would total about 350,000 galleons."

"If you add some security, I'll take it!"

Harry walked out of the store feeling very pleased with himself. Sure, he probably could have bought a real Quidditch pitch for a fraction of the price, but he considered it a birthday gift for nearly 16 years of missed presents and, since he didn't plan on exiting the trunk very much, the release he got from flying was too much to pass on.

The next stop for Harry was Flourish and Blotts. He browsed the sections but quickly found that to buy the majority of the books he wanted, you needed to be 17, and for the rest, you needed ministry approval. Harry really didn't want to let anyone know he had escaped, so he did not inform them of his identity nor his emancipation status. He ended up buying only one book there: _So You Think You Can Duel?_

This happened again at Olivanders when he tried to buy a second wand and at the Apothecary when he tried to get some of the rarer potions supplies. Fed up, Harry went back to Knockturn Ally. He followed a hooded figure into what looked like a bookstore. There was no one else in the shop. Harry saw the man he followed in show the proprietor his arm and be led to the back room. Thinking quickly, Harry stunned the man and disillusioned him. He put up the hood on his black cloak and transfigured his shoes to be slightly taller.

"Here we are, the Dark Lord's order." The man said pointing to a pile. "We have _The Arte of Torture, How to influence people: Five Easy Steps!, Parseltounge-Salazar's Personal Spell Repertoire, Dealing with Depression, _and the 29 volume original set of_ Understanding Witches: A Work In Progress._"

"Excellent" Harry rasped. "My master also ordered me to look around to see what else you have to offer."

"Of course good sir! Feel free to look about these shelves back here, or if you want some of the more ministry approved books, you might want to look out front." The man said with a knowing smirk.

"Very well, my master will be pleased."

Harry walked out of the store feeling very happy with himself. Along with Voldemort's books, he ended up buying about a third of the store, charging it all to the Malfoy account. Among some of his better finds were _Animagus: How to find the beast within, Spells That Would Probably Get you in Trouble With Your Mum_, _Beginners Magical transportation, _and, his personal favorite, _The Guide to Acing Hogwarts. _The stunned, disillusioned Death Eater, was now also bound, disarmed, petrified, and locked in a hastily constructed cell in Harry's trunk.

He searched the Ally a bit and entered a nearby potions store. Harry, not knowing what exactly he would need for the Animagus Potion, and wanting to stock up his new potions lab, bought a little of everything including a potion that cost quite a pretty knut to fix his eyesight. He kept his glasses on though, to make his opponents continue to underestimate him. His outing now complete, Harry headed to Hogwarts to steal his Firebolt back.


	5. Authority

CHAPTER 5

**A/N: Sorry about the delay, moving into the dorms is very stressful. Still looking for a Beta!**

Hermione ran crying through the streets of London, her mind clearing more and more with each step. Her mind was racing. A Death Eater had tried and failed to rape her, it took a 'friend'. She had never felt so helpless, so weak, so vulnerable; not even when the troll had almost killed her. Mostly, she felt guilty that she was unable to fight, and that she did everything he told her to do. So much for the 'Golden Trio' she thought, Ron had never really considered me a friend. He saw me as a possession that could be used for homework or pleasure, nothing more. A voice interrupted her thoughts, causing her to trip.

"Hey there Miss, are you alright?"

Hermione looked up into the concerned face of a police officer. She had no one else to turn to. Her family was dead, one of her friends was under house arrest for the summer, and the other had violated her. "No…" she finally whispered through her tears. "Can you take me to a hospital?"

"I most certainly can." He said, giving her his coat. "My name is Robert Lorington if that makes you more comfortable. You can ride in the front seat."

Hermione dutifully answered all the questions the staff asked of her, substituting muggle terminology for the wizarding. They asked her for a description of Ron and she gave it knowing that it wouldn't do anything. They offered to let her stay overnight, or set her up with a women's shelter. Hermione declined, and made to leave. The staff begged her not to return to a dangerous situation, and handed her a pregnancy test as she made her way out. Hermione stifled a sigh. They were only trying to help. At least she didn't have to worry about that; she had been taking a potion since the Yule Ball just in case.

As she went outside, the police man was waiting. He smiled at her but inside he was furious. His sister had been victimized by a gang right in front of his eyes on their way home from school when he was ten years younger. He had made it his life work to try to take those kinds of people off of the streets. He got the name and description from Hermione and taped it to his dashboard.

"Excuse me Miss, Can I give you a ride anywhere?"

Hermione looked at him for a long moment and then nodded as she climbed in the front seat. She was still lost in thought as she told him the directions to the Leaky Cauldron.

* * *

Ginny Weasely was not having a good day, or summer for that matter. Ever since her mum had heard about the fiasco at the ministry, she was kept busy with "womanly" chores around the house. Her mum thought if she kept her busy and indoctrinated her with household chores, Ginny would grow up to be a "proper lady of society". They had argued over it many times each getting louder than the last.

This time, however; they weren't arguing about household responsibilities, they were arguing because Ginny was caught listening in to the Order meetings.

"You are too young Ginerva!"

"Mum! I was only trying to find out how Harry is! He hasn't sent any letters all summer! And where is Hermione?! She was supposed to be here yesterday!"

"Hermione um…well she got delayed, I am sure she will return here soon. It's only a week into summer! Harry is probably grieving about Sirius!"

"Yes! Exactly! And he should be with people who support him during that time, not with the _Dursleys" _she spat.

"Dumbledore says he must stay there for his safety, and he has the final say. Now go to your room and for Merlin's sake brush your hair!"

"Agggh! You are infuriating!" Ginny said as she stormed off, brushing past the twins.

Fred and George looked at each other knowing exactly what the other was thinking. As one, they turned and followed Ginny upstairs.

"Hey ickie Gin Gin" George said with a grin.

"We heard your little disagreement with mum-"

"-And wanted to know where you stood with regard to the Order, Dumbledore, and Harry."

"I am loyal to Harry! Was I not right there at the ministry fighting with him?" she said indignantly.

"Alright, alright-"

"We have something to tell you then-"

"Come with us" they said together, and led her up to their room.

* * *

"Mr. Weasely, what can you tell us about the events preceding Hermione's departure from headquarters?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not much sir, we talked, and this morning she just ran off as soon as she woke up. I suspect the Death Eaters tried to do something to her and she's still in shock from that."

"I see, might I ask what exactly you two were discussing?" Dumbledore frowned.

"We are now dating! And I didn't even need that love potion"

"Is that all that occurred Mr. Weasely?" Dumbledore said as he looked him in the eye and saw all that he needed to know.

"Yes sir!" Ron said.

"I see, well Mr. Weasely, I know you have a very busy schedule, so I will try to keep this short. Harry still needs his friends around, and I think that whatever yours and Ms. Granger's relationship may be, it would be best to keep quiet about it. Also, I would strongly advise you to consider still giving her that potion, just in case something happens to break her trust in you."

"Of course sir! But I don't think that will ever happen!"

"Very well, Mr. Weasley, you may go."

Dumbledore sat down thinking. The Granger girl must not be allowed to tell anyone of the story. It was lucky that she ran out before anyone could ask her anything. She could ruin all that he worked for. Damn that insolent Weasely! Why did he have to go and do that before giving her the potion! In fact, Dumbledore was surprised that he even accomplished that much. He didn't think that Ron could beat a flobberworm in an arm wrestling match, let alone the Valedictorian of Hogwarts. It was definitely something to find out before he obliviated her.

* * *

Harry walked up to the gates of Hogwarts lost in thought and nearly ran into them. Never in his five years there had he seen them closed and locked shut. There was a palpable humming sound, like a giant swarm of bees. With a start, Harry realized the wards were fully activated. He looked a little closer, and could even make out the edge as it curved around the castle and grounds like a dome. He fingered the pendant around his neck and tried to open the gates.

* * *

Harry woke up with a blinding headache about a hundred feet away from the gate. He was NOT going to try that again. The wards had thrown him back rather violently as soon as he'd touched the lock. He got up and realized his glasses were bent horribly out of shape. Looking intently up at the castle, Harry now could make out the swirls of color like a bubble in the light that made up the wards. 'I guess they were even more limiting than I thought' Harry said to himself, as he vanished the remains of his glasses and started to walk around the exterior, looking for a weak spot. He saw that the further up it went, the less vivid the colors were. That would be a great place to try, except that the whole point in getting into the castle was to get his broom. Well then, he thought, what about the bottom? Harry concentrated even more and felt more than saw the remainder of the wards. They were the strongest at ground level, but grew weaker as they spread out. In fact, there seemed to be what looked like an emergency exit at the very bottom leading out towards the forbidden forest with a slightly different blend of wards. Harry set off towards the forest, looking intently beneath the ground every so often.

He walked for a very long time before he came to a rock face. It was covered in moss from misuse, but it was practically bursting with magic. He scraped away the moss and searched for a handle or a clue of some sort. There! Around the edges were tiny snakes!

"_**Open**_" he hissed, and the door swung outward.

* * *

Ginny's sat in amazement as the twins explained everything to her. They ended with

"Professor Lupin and McGonagall are in on this too. We are creating a new 'Order' if you will, only we will be loyal to Harry."

Her mouth moved up and down, trying to form a sentence before she gave up. She nodded her head once and said

"Fantastic! Now we have to find him!"

"That's not going to be a walk in the park Ginny." Fred said.

"Nor is it even going to be even a very long arduous run in the forbidden forest" George agreed.

"Nor as easy as fighting a Hungar-"

"I know that!" she snapped. "How can I help?"

"Well we have four of us in the Order, so we have that covered. You need to find out what happened between Hermione and Ron. Something smells fishy about the whole situation. You should also try to keep a lower profile around the house. We know what mum is doing and we don't like it, but try to argue a bit less than in every conversation you have with her. Also, we would like you to 'work' for us at our shop. It will get you out of the house and that's where we have been meeting after the Order meetings." George said as Fred stood by the door keeping watch.

"Speaking of which, we are due to meet the Professor there now. Let's go tell mum that you agreed to work for us and then we will head over there." Fred added, "She's actually coming upstairs now."

"Mum, we heard you and Ginny arguing, and we want to help. We just convinced her to sign a contract to work for us to get her out of your hair, especially during Order meetings. She will be product testing and maybe working the front. We're about to go over there and show her the ropes."

"Alright Fred-

"George" Fred said automatically.

"-George, don't do any lasting harm to her. She will need to look her best for next year."

"Great mum! We'll bring her back in once piece tonight!"

* * *

Hermione Granger walked through the Leaky Cauldron with her head down. She wandered aimlessly through Diagon Ally, her guilt almost overwhelming her. Why wasn't she able to defend herself, and against Ron Weasely of all people. She slowed outside of WWW wondering if anyone would believe her if she told them what had happened. Harry would, she decided, but not anyone else. They all thought that Ron and her constant bickering was a sign that they would get together or something ridiculous like that. In reality, it was because she couldn't stand him and his stupidity. She wouldn't let anyone know how weak she was. She was strong; she was not at the top of her class for nothing. But she would make Ronald Bilious Weasely rue the day he was born, oh yes she would make his life hell. She sat on the steps and rested her head against the door, intending to rest only a short while, but as she did so, she heard a low pitched whine getting higher until, 'whump', and she sank into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

As the twins and Ginny flooed into their shop, the alarms were blaring. Someone tried to break in! The twins checked the status of the wards.

"Whoever it is, is still out there!"

"I'll open the door and you guys stun again if there is movement." Ginny said. "On three, one, two, three!"

Ginny flung the door open and Fred and George immediately fired as a body slumped inside, the curses missing her by only a hair.

"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed.

"What is she doing here?" Fred said.

"She should know better than to try and get in." George added.

"Wait, are we sure it's her? I mean, this seems suspiciously easy" Fred said

"Search her Gin" George said and Ginny confiscated Ron's wand.

"Alright good, _Ennervate!_"

Hermione slowly opened her eyes into the faces of three redheads.

"If you are Hermione, what book did I get you last Christmas?" Ginny said suspiciously.

"Umm Ginny, I don't think you gave me a book," Hermione said blushing almost as badly as a Weasely, "you gave me that pink little-"

"Alright! She's Hermione!" Ginny said cutting her off.

"So Hermione," Fred said "What are your views on Dumbledore, the Order, and Harry?"


	6. A Closer Look

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

**A/N: Ugg, finding time to write is becoming more and more difficult. I will most certainly finish this story, but updates will be farther apart. Reviews are very nice to see, and if you have a suggestion feel free to leave it in a review, I will take everything into consideration. Enjoy. **

**A/N2: I've gotten a couple reviews so I just added a couple details and fixed a few mistakes, thanks for reviewing!**

Harry lit his wand, (since it was much brighter than doing it wandlessly) and walked along a surprisingly straight tunnel. It looked like the sides were worn smooth from use. 'The basilisk must have used this tunnel until it grew too large to fit' He surmised. There were larger passages branching off, and Harry took what looked to be the main one. He came to an abrupt stop at what appeared to be a dead end. Acting on impulse, he said _"Speak to me Slytherin, greatest of Hogwarts Four"_. There was a deep rumbling sound and a large horizontal crack of light appeared, and started to enlarge. Harry walked forward and looked down from the mouth of Salazar Slytherin. Conjuring a rope, he made his way down. The last time he had been here, he was a bit distracted, so as he looked around, he discovered a few things that previously went unnoticed. The basilisk was still there, although on closer inspection, there were many dead rats littered about the giant carcass and it was missing bite-sized chunks from its hide. 'Apparently the meat is just as deadly as it's gaze' Harry mentally noted. There were a few doors on one side of the chamber, and statues of wizards with snakes on the other. Actually they were all of one wizard. Apparently Slytherin had a very high opinion of himself…and yuck! quite the fetish for snakes. Wanting to avoid closer inspection, Harry made his way to the doors. The first door opened with a touch to what looked like a common room. There was only one door leading out. Entering it, Harry found a large room full of four-poster beds. Clothes and books were strewn all about. There was spell damage to most of the beds, and the walls were blackened from fire. It looked like whoever was here, left in a hurry. Picking up a nearby scrap of paper, Harry read

_Today is a wonderous day! I have been hand-picked by Master Slytherin himself! He only picks the best, most talented students. There are only about 30 of us so far, but when there are enough of us, we will finally cleanse the school of the ridiculous pureblood supremacy movement that taints its walls. The Slytherins that don't agree with us will be 'rehabilitated' as some of the older students put it. The Professor has been teaching us all these new spells to use and some are even in Parseltounge! They are much more powerful than any I've seen before and they need a specific counter to undo any of the effects. _

_There is a new member that I do not trust, Arthur Malfoy. He is at my level, yet he is not able to use these new spells nearly at all. It takes him hours to get the correct pronunciation. He is gone more often than not and I cannot seem to locate him. He is not in our common room, nor the Slytherin common room. I will be watching him very closely…_

_Today is the day that I am going to learn the killing curse. Master Slytherin has brought in hundreds of animals from the forest for us to practice on. I hear movement outside. Someone is out before curfew in the hall. It's an attack! My companions see to move at an incredibly slow pace. Where is Master Salazar? The pureblood Slytherins are here led by that traitor Malfoy! They are slaughterin-_

Harry looked around with greater trepidation. He was looking on the scene of an ancient battle. From the looks of it, there was at least one survivor, seeing as there were no dead corpses around. He moved back through the common room, and into the next door. This room required an '_**Open**__' _to enter. 'Now this is a classroom' Harry thought as he looked around in wonder. There were bookshelves all around filled with nearly every subject imaginable. Off to the side was a room that practically hummed with magic. Concentrating, Harry could just make out the protections surrounding it. It was a dueling chamber! There were all sorts of equipment on racks outside. There were blindfolds, swords, shields, and spare wands. Harry entered the chamber and began experimented firing spells at the walls. All of them began bouncing back at him, forcing him to dive out of the way. They would bounce a certain number of times depending on the strength of the spell. Deciding to come back later, Harry exited the classroom and approached the final door. This door was much more ornate than the other two. It also was locked but this time it required a prick of blood. Harry did not expect anything to happen, but surprisingly, the door slid open.

Harry felt a tingle of magic as he crossed the threshold of Salazar Slytherin's personal quarters, and sure enough, looked again and saw the now familiar patterns of defensive wards. Except for the door, Slytherin's quarters were surprisingly plain. There was no flashy gold plating or shine, everything he owned was masterfully crafted and served a distinct purpose. Harry saw a neatly organized potion cabinet and ingredient chest, a personal library of books, and a wardrobe full of battle robes.

This, Harry decided, is where he would stay.

* * *

Hermione's mind was reeling. Looking back, it was obvious the number of times that they were deceived and misled by Dumbledore. Honestly, he would always arrive right after the danger passed, if at all! For being the only one that Voldemort feared, he couldn't even spot him right under his nose. No, Professor Dumbledore had failed them one too many times. He was not to be trusted.

Hermione was currently sleeping on a conjured bed in the back of Fred and George's shop. She didn't know what she should tell the Weaselys about Ron. She was afraid that they would take his side. She was extremely loath to tell anyone because she didn't want them to know how weak she'd been. She promised herself that it would never happen again. She would get stronger. Her pride may be hurt, but she would get revenge on Ronald Weasely if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

"I have grave news" Dumbledore said as he looked around the table. "While Voldemort has not located Number 4 Private Drive, he has managed to locate the guards around it and has surrounded the whole block with Death Eaters. They are working very hard to tear the wards down. We also suspect that he has people inside the ministry monitoring the floo network and apparition, so that option is out. Any suggestions?"

"Leave the brat in there to die; he has never been of any use to us."

"Severus! That is enough. We must form an escape plan. I for one think that the best option is to smuggle him out the-"

"Albus, we should keep this under wraps…especially from those who visit Voldemort on a regular basis. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody said staring pointedly at Snape.

"Says the man who spent his whole career as a teacher locked in his own trunk, how…pathetic"

"Gentlemen please! Alastor you make a valid point. We shall discuss this later under tighter security."

"Now does anybody else have something to report?"

* * *

"Severus, here is what our 'rescue plan' is. We will give one of the guards a dose of Polyjuice potion, to give to Mr. Potter, and he will assume the form of his cousin. The guard will _convince_ one of the relatives to drive Harry to London, and then we will rendezvous at the Leaky Cauldron. At least that's what everyone else will know. You may tell Voldemort everything. Here's hoping that Tom will finally off him this time."

"As desirable as that is, Headmaster, I wouldn't bet on it. Need I remind you that you have lost the previous five wagers regarding the life of the brat?"

"No Severus, I assure you, I remember. Nevertheless, with both of them tying the other to this world, neither can die by any other hand. As such, they must continue to try and kill each other or we will be faced with two very powerful immortals. Why else do you think I made up that Prophecy? The real one said that unless killed by the owner of his wand's brother, Harry Potter would overturn all factions and start a new government. I for one am not going to allow that to happen. What will your wager be this time?"

"30 Galleons that Potter gets as far as London, is attacked, and somehow escapes."

"Hmm, I will say…30 on barely making it out of the driveway and perishing in the attack."

"You're on." said Snape as they shook on it.

* * *

Ginny woke to the sound of tapping. 'Hedwig? What is she doing here?' she thought as she let in Harry's owl. "Did you lose your letter girl?" she asked. Hedwig gave an indignant hoot. "No? Hmm, well do you know where Harry is?" Hedwig ruffled her feathers in an affirmative manner. "Well here, can you take this letter to him?" Ginny said as she hastily scribbled a note to Harry about the recent developments in loyalties. She attached the note to Hedwig's leg and watched as she flew off. Ginny immediately went to go find the twins.

"Fred! George!" she whispered, "Hedwig came by! And said that she knew where Harry was!"

"Erm, Ginny, you do know that owls can't speak right?" George said warily.

"She didn't actually speak, she more…gave body language"

"Body language? Like what." Fred asked.

"Well she hooted at me in a certain way…and then she ruffled her feathers affirmatively"

"Ruffled her feathers…affirmatively?" George asked as though he was speaking to a small child.

"Yes, and I sent a note to him. We should be hearing from him soon."

"…"

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"Nothing, we actually have to go-" Fred said as he inched past her.

"-business is booming you know" George added.

"Bye!" they said together as they apparated to their shop.

"Barmy that one is George" said George

"She really has gone 'round the bend." Fred agreed.

* * *

Hedwig was not having a good week. First she was ignored, and then when her master finally got around to sending letters, some barmy old man kept stealing them from her. Even more, after the last time she came back, he was gone! And the fat one tried to hit her with a long wooden stick. Not knowing where to go, and not having a name or letter to tell her to go, she flew to the odd looking house that her master sometimes went to. Exhausted, she tried to eat some food and rest for awhile, but the stupid female human kept jabbering and had to go and give her a letter. Now she _had _to go find her brooding master who had disappeared even to her owl senses. No, she was not having a good week.

* * *

Harry stood at the bottom of the large pipe leading to Myrtle's bathroom wondering how to get up. He had unpacked all of his purchases and was settled in Salazar's quarters. The only thing he needed to worry about now was food. Too bad he didn't own a House Elf. There's a thought! "Dobby!" he said and waited expectantly. Five minutes later Harry gave up and figured either he couldn't come down here or didn't want to. Glancing at the wards again, Harry saw where the pipe entered the bottom. Looking at the pipe, he saw a different pattern of enchantment. Taking a wild guess, and figuring that Slytherin must have had a more composed way to get down than sliding through sludge, Harry hissed _**"Stairs"**_ and sure enough, ten stairs appeared. He stepped on them and almost fell over when they started to move like an escalator towards the bathroom.

As soon as Harry stepped into the bathroom, the pendant on his neck began to hum. He was frozen! Harry started to panic as he could feel a presence surrounding him. It was ancient, and vast. After a long moment, it seemed to accept him and disperse.

"Wait!" Harry called, but it had already gone. Something was different though, in his mind he could still feel it, like a comforting feeling. No words were exchanged, but with utter clarity, Harry knew that this was the semi-consciousness of Hogwarts. It had accepted him.

Making his way through the empty halls, Harry planned his next move. All of his friends at the Ministry had proved their worth, thanks, at least in part, to his training. He would focus on continuing his training this summer. He vowed to himself that he would become an animagus. It was an incredibly useful skill and everyone, illegal and legal, had greatly benefitted from their form. It could be a life-saver, and that alone was good enough for him. Another thing that was imperative was to learn how to apparate. It wasn't just for the ease of transportation, but for the necessity of it. He unshackled his Firebolt from the dungeons, and flew all the way back to the chamber, taking guilty pleasure in speeding down the hallways.

That night found Harry sitting on his bed reading the instructions for the Animagus potion. The potion was extremely valuable and rare not only because it revealed an "inner animal", but because those who were unable to become one, or did not have the animal inside, experienced a wide variety of hallucinations. In fact, before Voldemort's reign, it had become quite the hit at pureblood dinner parties. Harry straightened, and drained the potion, looking forward to finding his animal, or at the very least, having a good time. Blackness immediately took over…

_The wind roared in his ears. He was flying faster than he had thought possible. Then, there was intense heat, but it felt wonderful. He was the master of the skies, the mystical phoenix. To show his joy, he opened his mouth wide. With a pop, his jaw dislocated showing fangs glistening with venom. He dropped in the air for a couple of seconds before catching himself…he was an emerald green phoenix…with what looked like basilisk fangs…'now this will give everyone a surprise' he thought as his vision faded. _

* * *

"Hello, everyone" Minerva McGonagall said as the Ginny and Hermione sat down. Remus and the twins, who had arrived with her, nodded their heads in greeting.

"Now Ms. Granger, I do believe that you have something to show us?"

"Yes Professor, I think we should have a contract much like the one we had for the DA. This one, however, will be much more severe than a couple zits."

"What would it say and how severe are we talking with the punishment?" Lupin inquired.

"Well the contract basically says that you will not reveal any secrets shared at these meetings to anyone who has not signed it. Also you must be loyal to Harry. I know you all might think him an immature schoolboy, but if you had seen him teach the DA you would see how brilliant he is at fighting and teaching. He's a natural leader. The punishment… would be equivalent to breaking a Wizard's Oath."

"What?!" Fred said. "I don't want to lose my life, or worse my magic!"

"George!" George said, marking the first time that they had ever openly argued about something, "This is Harry we're talking about. Do we really want someone who will betray us to get off with a slap on the wrist?"

Fred stared at him for a couple seconds "No, I reckon not. What would we name it?"

"I was thinking something along the lines of 'The Order of the Pheonix 2' or the Order 2 for short."

"…"

"Hermione I really think you need to work on your imagination with naming groups."

"Fine! Do you have any better suggestions?"

"How about Harry's crew?"

"Nah, He wouldn't want that."

"The Collection of miscreants?"

"Fred!"

"Only joking!"

"How about…The Defenders of Justice" Ginny asked.

"Wow, that's…powerful" George said.

"Yeah and it gives us an air of mystery, I like it."

"Seconded."

"Alright, well if there are no further comments-"

"Ms. Granger might I suggest writing in a clause that we might be released from these vows in the event of Mr. Potter's death, or until he releases us?" Professor McGonagall said.

"Certainly, but that part will not activate until Harry himself signs it."

"Very well, give it here."

The parchment made its way around the table emitting a soft blue glow with each signature.

"Good, now on to the Order Meeting. "

Ginny and Hermione watched and listened as Professor McGonagall and the others filled them in on the news about Private Drive, and Order's plans. There was not much else to say and the meeting started to die down. The twins left to walk the adults out.

"Spill it Hermione, what happened?" Ginny said demandingly.

"Nothing…"

"Bollocks! You were supposed to arrive at the Burrow and instead we find you here a whole day later."

"I was at the Burrow!" snapped Hermione. "But then…I left"

"Obviously! Mum has told me nothing. The only thing I heard was that Ron claims you two are together now."

"What! That Bastard! I detest him! He's tried to get me to go with him to the Astronomy Tower since third year." Hermione said as she started sobbing, "I was attacked...by Death Eaters, they…they killed my parents! I was hit with the _Submissivo_ curse as I portkeyed out…Ron…Ron… as good as r-raped me…I trusted him! How could he do that to me!"

"Shh shh, it's alright," Ginny said soothingly. Inside she was enraged. She'd always know Ron was thick, but she didn't think that he would ever stoop _that_ low! "Don't worry Hermione, we'll get you help. Ron is going to Azkaban."

"No! I don't want anyone else to know. I will get my revenge, but it will be much, much worse than Azkaban."

"Hermione…"

"No Ginny, this is my decision and you must keep it a secret because we still are technically 'at the meeting'"

"You had better let me in on any retribution. This is unforgiveable."

"I promise"

* * *

"My Lord, everything is going to plan. We will attack tomorrow as soon as there are enough people in the shop."

"Good Wormtail, good. That is the only shop that still attracts customers. We will show them that laughing in the face of Lord Voldemort is _highly _inadvisable."

"Yes of course my Lord."

"Now, where is Goyle with my books?"

"I don't know my Lord"

"Probably still trying to decipher the titles, the illiterate fool. Damn! I am in desperate need of that 29 volume set. With it, all wizards would flock to my side in order to understand the mystery that is called witch."

"My Lord, didn't you send Goyle precisely _because _he couldn't read?

"Don't mock me worm!" Lord Voldemort said as he forced Wormtail to transform into a rat and put him in a specialized cage. "Now entertain me!" He conjured a snake and made it chase Wormtail all around the enclosure.

* * *

Harry awoke in a cold sweat. 'Was that a vision?' If so, it was the oddest one yet. If h ever caught Pettegrew, he would take a leaf out of Voldemort's book except he wouldn't use a conjured snake; he would substitute himself for it. There was obviously only one place that Voldemort could be talking about, and it concerned him greatly. The twins had always looked out for him; they had given him their most treasured belonging, the Maurader's Map, without batting an eyelash. Besides that, he owned a good portion of the shop and didn't want to see it go to waste.

Harry forced himself out of bed and groaned as he noticed it was only 4:30 in the morning. He showered and dressed in one of Slytherin's black battle robes. After journeying to the kitchens for a quick breakfast, he decided to read more of his animagus book.

'_There is very little known about how animagus shapes are decided as not everybody has one, and even with those who do, very few are willing to put forth so much effort into a transformation. Of those who still manage to attain their animal, a mere fraction actually register, and research about a subject that can lead to arrests, causes many people to be very tight-lipped about it. _

_The time taken to attain a completed transformation depends on a variety of factors. The first and most important factor is the ratio of the power of the wizard (or witch) and the size of the animal. One with very weak magical power will take about the same amount of time to transform into an insect as one with very strong magical power to a form many times their size. _

_Contrary to popular belief, the transformation process is not forcing your body into another form, but it is more learning to relax your mental ties to your human side. Your form has always been inside of you and has been naturally suppressed by your magic. It is thought that the first animagus was a monk in the Himalayan Mountains who, during a particularly bad winter, took to eating the leaves that were supposed to be used for clothing. He slipped into an altered state of consciousness and almost instantly transformed, alarming his family, and greatly altering the wizarding world's perception of wandless magic and transfiguration. _

Harry read until about a half an hour before the shop opened, then grabbed his wand and invisibility cloak, and made his way to Diagon Alley. He put on his cloak, and found an unobtrusive spot right outside and settled down to wait.


	7. First Blood

CHAPTER 7

**A/N Hey guys, sorry about the long wait, but hey, life happens. I'll try my hardest to get a steady pace on updates, but no promises. Hope you like the chapter!**

It was nearing noon and Harry was beginning to get impatient. He had been sitting in a boarded-up doorway on the other side of the street from WWW for almost three hours. There had been absolutely no sign of Death Eater activity. He wondered if it was even happening today. Harry actually felt himself falling asleep due to the lack of sleep the night before when, he heard a noise out of place. *scratch scratch* 'What was that? I know that sound from somewhere' he thought as he looked around. 'There! A small gray rat was creeping toward the shop!'

"Stupefy!" Harry whispered

He missed by about a foot. Harry tried again and again with the same results. 'Man, I really have to work on my accuracy' Harry mentally noted.

This time he took careful aim and hit the rat right on the head. Stealthily moving over to the now unconscious rat, he disillusioned it and placed it in an out-of-the-way place near some stairs. A few minutes later he heard the same sound again! There was the rat moving much faster towards the shop! Harry wasted no time in capturing it again and placing it in the same out-of-the-way place. This happened many, many more times and Harry began to wonder at the strength of his stunner, and the intelligence of the rat that would keep trying no matter how many times it was stunned.

Harry was taking aim at the rat yet again and his stunner had just left his wand when twelve Death Eaters apparated into the street, the closest only four feet away. The stunner hit him instantly and acting quickly, Harry disillusioned and bound him, and placed him near the stairs. The remaining Death Eaters looked around in confusion but shrugged and figured that someone must have gotten the coordinates wrong, they proceeded to the door with Harry following behind picking off any that strayed far enough away. He had stunned a total of five when the others stopped again and looked around suspiciously noticing someone was missing. Shrugging yet again, they figured they must have counted wrong they proceeded toward the shop. They had just sealed the door shut when Harry fired again. This time, however, they were too close together for them not to notice one of their number fall.

"Attack!" one of them yelled and they began firing _incendio_ and other destructive curses at the shop. Harry fired again, but this time someone noticed the spell appearing out of thin air.

"Invisibility Cloak!" he yelled. "_Accio Invisibility Cloak_!"

'Damn' Harry thought as he managed to grab the cloak before it was out of reach, but not in time to stay unnoticed.

"Aha! Scared you'll have to fight like a man now, are we?" said the Death Eater firing a yellow curse at Harry.

"I wouldn't call six to one fighting like a man, but hey I guess you all are compensating for something." Harry taunted back as he dodged and returned fire. But all too soon, Harry was worn down. No matter how much he dodged, shielded and attacked, he couldn't take another one out and was starting to slow. The shop was heavily damaged, but surprisingly not on fire. Then again, maybe it wasn't so surprising seeing as a large majority of the products in the store were fireworks and fireproof charms were a must for any shop with volatile materials. Harry, distracted with this thought, dodged a _crucio_ only to take a bludgeoning hex to the shoulder.

"AAHG!" Harry screamed in pain, his right arm hanging limply, possibly broken, and definitely out of its socket. Harry threw himself to the ground to avoid another _crucio_, but was barely able to grip the wand, let alone retaliate with his arm so injured. He looked up to see six very unfriendly wands pointing at him when the doors to the shop suddenly burst open. Fred, George, and a couple of the braver customers poured out and engaged the Death Eaters. George's eyes widened as he saw just who was on the ground. Harry took advantage of the momentary confusion to slip his cloak back on and tried to creep to the outside of the battle. Although, the term 'battle' was very short-lived. The Death Eaters, seeing how the odds were suddenly not in their favor, apparated away.

"That's right! Run away!" Fred said.

"That'll teach them what happens when they mess with the Weaselys" George added.

Harry gingerly got to his feet and tried to silently leave but not before George called loudly

"And if our silent partner is out there, I believe he would be very interested in hearing what we have to say."

Harry paused wondering if this could be a trap.

"Especially if he wishes for medical attention and people who don't treat him like a pawn"

Cautiously Harry moved towards Fred and George who were in the process of closing the shop for repairs. He touched George on the shoulder.

"Alright people, everyone out, we need to fix this damage, and possibly upgrade the defenses of the shop. Take our Owl order form and give it to everybody you know!"

Fred and George were soon the only ones left and made a big show of holding the door for each other giving plenty of time for someone invisible to enter without notice.

"Harry?" Fred asked

Harry gingerly took of the cloak and gave them a sheepish smile.

"Guess I bit off more than I could chew that time guys"

"I'd say so, taking on six Death Eaters like that."

"Twelve."

"What?!"

"There were twelve, I stunned six and disillusioned five. The others are near the stairs across the street."

"Blimey Harry! No wonder they call you the boy who lived."

"You go into the backroom with George; I'll go grab those Death Eaters." Fred said as he exited the shop.

Harry followed George into the backroom and was nearly assaulted by a mass of brown hair.

"Harry! What are you doing here? Are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"I'm fine" he replied, "Only a hurt arm"

"FINE?! Harry James Potter you are most certainly not fine! Your shoulder looks like it was trampled by a giant. Here let me get this for you. We have to get it back in the socket before healing the bones. This is going to hurt."

"Alright, I'm ready."

"On three. One, two…What's that over there?" Hermione asked looking behind Harry.

"Where?"

Hermione jerked hard on his arm and guided it back in place.

"OW! What happened to three?"

"You were tensing up and I didn't want you fighting me. Now stop being a baby and let me repair your bones."

"Women" Harry muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Better be nothing unless you fancy sleeping with a broken arm."

"No, I mean Thank you very much Hermione"

"Hmmph" Hermione said as she muttered a healing charm.

"Alright, now I need you to swear that neither of you will tell Dumbledore where I am."

"We have something much better than that." Hermione said as she pulled out the contract she had written up. "Read this."

Harry read the parchment, his eyebrows rising more and more until he got to the end. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything; all you have to do is sign it at the top and give it a drop of your blood."

Harry grabbed a quill off the table, and signed his name with a flourish, pricked his finger and let a drop fall to the contract. It glowed a very bright blue before fading back to normal.

"Now, let me tell you about all that I've been up to."

"Oi Harry! Wait for me" Fred yelled as he came in the door floating a number of figures. "I have to ask mate, what's with all the stunned rats? There must be at least twenty of them."

* * *

Harry eventually returned from WWW late that night and made his way down to Slytherin's chambers. He had a lot to think about. He had learned quite a few things today. He was next to useless without a functional right hand. That would most certainly have to be remedied. Another big thing was that he was severely out of shape- he only lasted three minutes in actual combat before he was gasping for breath, especially against the six. That was another thing he learned that really got to him. Fighting all alone was nigh impossible, but having friendly wands with him could make all the difference. It had only been by a small bit of skill and a large amount of luck that he had survived previous encounters with Voldemort. He would not make the same mistakes again.


	8. Correspondence and Discussions

CHAPTER 8

**A/N: Been awhile huh guys? I actually considered abandoning it because of an enormous writers block, but I read through it today and thought up the perfect ending…now I just have to get there. Anyways, I sort of wrote myself into a little hole, but seeing as none of you have caught it so far I decided to leave it alone for now. (yes that is a challenge)Anyway, same deal, I only own the plot, R&R!**

_Dear Order of the Pheonix Member:_

_I am a recruiter in Diagon Ally that specializes in placing exemplary wizards in the positions they desire to be in with my contacts across London. I work with several others of varying skills and abilities. I received your name from several other members of the "Order of the Pheonix" that have intelligently decided to join a much better organization_

_Feel comfortable that your information is confidential with my organization. I would like to discuss whether you are currently in the market or even keeping your eyes open for the right opportunity. I would like to see a current copy of your resume to see what opportunities that you may be perfect for. Please send your resume via owl, and I will follow up with you in the next few days to determine your level of interest._

_I thank you in advance for your response. Please owl me back or floo call me direct._

_Sincerely,  
Hermione Granger_

_Senior Recruiting Consultant  
Defenders of Justice Inc._

"Well?" asked Hermione.

"… what?" Fred finally asked.

"What do you think?"

"Umm…its certainly interesting" George said.

"What about the rest of you?" she asked, turning to Ginny, Professor McGonagall, Remus, and Harry.

"Er..its..nice?" Harry answered tentatively after looking around at the rest of them and getting nods in confirmation. "I don't know how practical it is though, and for some reason it seems like you shamelessly ripped it off of a muggle recruiting letter."

"…Anyways, I was thinking we could make some fliers or possibly owl them to all of the current Order members. " Hermione said

"Hermione have you been taking excess animagus revealer potion?"

"Or taking any candy from strangers recently?" Fred and George asked respectively.

"NO!" she said very defensibly.

"…Moving on," said Harry, "I want to show you guys a letter I received the other day. Voldemort is trying to recruit me!"

_To Harry Potter,_

_ The time is ripe for you to join my cause; together we shall overcome any adversary that dares oppose us. We will have riches beyond belief, power beyond comprehension, live longer than…umm…well a very very long time to say the least! Room and board will be provided, along with reasonable accommodations until world domination. You would have a base pay of 40 galleons a day, along with a commission for each raid you go on. (Please note: all candidates must also pass a veritaserum questioning, along with accepting the Dark Mark prior to an official welcome into the fold.)_

_ -Lord Voldemort_

"That's ridiculous, I hope you didn't even respond to it." Professor McGonagall exclaimed.

"Err… not exactly.."

"You what! Don't tell us you are going to accept that offer?" Ginny screamed.

"Of course not!" Harry exclaimed, "Honestly, people these days. I told him that 40 galleons a day was way too little, I would accept no less than 75, the Dark Mark would be a no-go, and I would need an oath of partnership before I would even consider it. "

"Harry mate, I really can't tell if you're joking with us or not." George said.

"Yeah, you do realize that this is the guy who killed your parents, tried to kill you?" Fred added.

"Of course I know that!" Harry snapped, "I'm just trying to make the most out of an opportunity"

"Riiight" Remus said warily, "Moving on, what about training? I already know I can, seeing as I'm unemployed, and Harry can, as he is the closest someone can get to be on a wanted poster without committing a crime."

"I probably can, I just have to be careful to avoid suspicion from mum, she's a Nazi about housework, and I can't exactly work at WWW all the time with nothing to show for it." Ginny said.

"I can, but I also need to be careful. I kind of left in an odd manner" Hermione said bitterly. At this everyone except Ginny looked on in confusion, but didn't say anything.

"I will be officially taking a vacation for a month, but then I have to get back to school to avoid suspicion." Professor McGonagall said.

"Alright" Remus said as Harry still looked lost in thought, "Well let's plan on at least three times a week, It doesn't really matter when, as Harry and I will probably be training or working on something most of the time. Just stop by as much as possible."

"Agreed" everyone chorused

"_Crucio_" Lord Voldemort hissed. He was enraged with his Death Eaters and their utter failure. They had barely put a scratch on that blasted shop, they didn't even get a mention in the Daily Prophet, and Goyle still hadn't returned with his books! To be honest with himself, he didn't know which one made him angrier. "Crabbe, your assignment is to find Goyle and more importantly, the books he was supposed to get. "

"Yes master," Crabbe whimpered as he shook off the effects of the curse.

"Wormtail!"

"Yes, my lord"

"You are to locate Mundungus Fletcher, sneak onto his person, and infiltrate the Order's headquarters."

"Yes, my lord"

"And Crabbe! Why are you still here?"

"I'm on my mandatory lunch break sir!"

"Bollocks to your lunch break! Go find Goyle!"

"Oh alright sir, but the Union will be hearing about this"

"The Union? Since when have we had a Union?"

"Umm ever since your disappearance. This very smart fellow named Dennis gave us the idea. Then the rest of us banded together and made it official!"

"And nobody thought to tell me?"

"I thought you knew my lord, you signed the contract about a month ago and you seemed to be following the rules."

"Rules? I AM the ruler! I MAKE the rules! And I signed no such thing!"

"Well, yes technically my lord, but there are rules now that were in fact approved by you. I believe it was in the payroll paperwork stack."

"WHAT? _Avada -"_

"Not allowed! Paragraph 2B 'No one may curse another Death Eater without due cause'"

"_AVADA KADA_-"

"AND! The 2B bylaws state that anger is not an acceptable cause"

"ARRRRGGG! Get out of my sight! Everyone!"

Harry made his way back to Slytherin's quarters. He'd had a long day and needed to relax before even thinking about sleeping. He sat on the bed and a stack of books on the bedside table caught his eye. 'Ah just what I need' he thought 'Some insight to Voldemort's research' He leafed through _Parseltounge-Salazar's Personal Spell Repertoire_, skipped over _The Arte of Torture _ and _How to influence people: Five Easy Steps!_, gave an extremely judgmental look at _Dealing with Depression_, and then came to the genuine gold mine: the 29 volume original set of_ Understanding Witches: A Work In Progress._ He began reading earnestly.

(OMAKE)

Thirty years later, Harry Potter left the Chamber of Secrets a changed man. He now knew things that no male should ever know. Ever. He squinted out at the bright sunlight and decided the knowledge was too much to bear. He gathered every remnant of his magic and apparated to the moon. He softly floated down to the surface, looked at the earth below and died peacefully.

(By The Way: THAT WAS AN OMAKE)


	9. Improbable Situations

CHAPTER 9

**A/N: Hey guys, I read this through completely after finishing this chapter and I must say I am impressed with your dedication. I feel like my first couple of chapters are absolute crap. Also I hate my title, that in and of itself is incredibly too Cliché. So I am opening up suggestions to a new Title. Anyways, those were written almost a year ago, so I don't feel too bad..improvement (hopefully?) and whatnot. Anyway, I hope you like it, or at least pretend to.**

**(Insert Standard Disclaimer here…Also some scene in this chapter may look very familiar. If you recognize it, it's not mine)**

Voldemort glared at his followers. They had become unbearably lazy since that thrice-damned Union was formed. They even had the gall to refuse to go on the Potter assignment on the grounds that it was before noon and would therefore interfere with Sunday brunch.

"I am your master! You must obey me!"

"Oh, Master eh? Very nice. And how'd you get that eh? By exploiting the workers. By hanging on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society." Dennis said.

"Shut Up!" Voldemort said as he grabbed the offending Death Eater.

"Now we see the violence inherent in the system."

"SHUT UP" He said as he dragged the man to the antechamber.

"Come and see the violence inherent in the system. Help! Help! I'm being repressed!"

The rest of the Death Eaters looked on in shock. Then, through door to the antechamber they heard a strange wheezing screaming sound.

"NO! Please no!...AHHHHHAHHHHHAHHHA! *gasp* Please…AHHHAHH—"

"NOW THEN." Voldemort said as he walked back into the room "Any more questions?"

"Alright everyone you know your assignments! Let's move out!" Moody called.

"This should be interesting" Dumbledore said privately to Snape as they took a portkey to Arabella Figg's house.

"Quite," Snape said," The Dark Lord is planning on personally attending this little shindig."

"Fabulous, and we have the box seats!" Dumbledore replied disillusioned on the roof a few feet away from Snape, "Popcorn?"

Snape looked at it suspiciously before taking a handful. He popped it in his mouth only to see it very shortly afterward as he spit it back out.

"Problem Severus?" Dumbledore asked innocently.

"No, nothing at all..I merely coughed at most inopportune moment" Snape said muttering about senile old men and their lemon flavored popcorn.

"Ah, well I do believe the show is about to begin." He said excitedly as two enormous figures waddled out to the car.

Moody and the others hand-selected (drew the short straw) for this task flooed to

"Now what is the meaning of this?" Vernon Dursley bellowed. "OUT! Get OUT FREAKS!"

"Aw stuff it Dursley" said Moody, "Actually, _Silencio_" They all watched amusedly as a vein on his forehead pulsed dangerously.

"There, now Tonks!" barked Moody, "Take this polyjuice potion upstairs and get Harry ready. We'll keep watch down here."

Tonks walked upstairs with a smirk on her face. As she walked upstairs she morphed into Harry, intending to scare him with his own face. She heard someone washing their hands in the lavatory and her smirk grew even wider.

Downstairs, a pop was heard from the kitchen. The Order members froze. There was a low pitch humming that they hadn't noticed before. Suddenly scores of pops could be heard from the kitchen. Eyes wide they quickly retreated to the staircase. Then a piercing beeeep was heard. The Order members downstairs jumped and looked around in confusion.

The bathroom door suddenly burst open and a quarter-ton mass hit Tonks head on. She came-to mere moments later as Moody ran upstairs. She had reverted to her natural form as her severely concussed head lacked the concentration to keep it.

"What happened?" Moody demanded

"Bleaeegh" Tonks answered

"Ah good work Tonks, but you should have left the celebrating until after the rescue. Anyways I'll get these two out of here and you get yourself home."

Tonks responded by puking.

"Right, clean yourself up then. Harry?" He said turning to the other boy sitting woozy on the landing."Its time to go."

Dudley, while having a much thicker skull than Tonks, also had a much smaller brain too, so was even more out-of-it than she. However he still was able to move, and followed Moody downstairs without complaint.

"Alright Dursley get in the car and drive him to # 13 Grimmauld Place. We will meet you there and collect him." Moody said gesturing to Dudley. At this Vernon's eyes grew wide. He shook his head.

"NOW!" Moody yelled. "Or I'll...I'll…I'll…" Vernon looked on curiously.

"You know what, Screw it. _Imperio_"

Voldemort was still enraged at his so called 'loyal' Death Eaters. They had agreed to come but now he had to buy them all dinner, and they always ordered the lobster when that happened. Something had to be done about their insolence. It was simply intolerable and way too expensive. He gave the nod and the fifteen Death Eaters he picked plus one all apparated to the driveway of Number 4 Private Drive.

"Alright Boys you know what to do!" Dennis said, and as one, they all conjured picket signs. "What do we want?"

"Renegotiation!"

"When do we want it?"

"NOW!"

"That's right! We challenge you to break this line!"

Voldemort buried his head in his hand in an attempt to calm down. He actually wasn't that surprised. Not about the strike, but because this was one in a slew of unfortunate events starting from that Halloween night years ago. He didn't even notice the two figures continue on their way to the car. It started up and he looked up just in time to see a very large amount steel inches from his face and he knew no more. The car, not even slowing, left a burning trail of rubber as it sped off towards London.

Harry threw the book down with disgust. He hadn't believed something so sickeningly cute could ever be penned by a member of his own gender. 'Ah', he thought as he took a closer look. 'Co-authored, edited and revised by the most beautiful flower in the world: My loving wife'. This was all underlined by odd squiggly lines. Odd, some of them looked strangely like snakes…

_Help! If you are reading this my wife has discovered the secret to our kind! I feel like I shalln't survive this treatment much longer! All the information you need is hidden in plain sight in the Slytherin Dormitory. I only hope that you are able to keep this information hidden better than I could. _

Harry stared at the book in shock. He read the passage twice more to make sure he understood it correctly, then raced towards the entrance to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. The stairs formed at his command and ascended. He sprinted down from the second floor and eventually skidded to a halt in front of the blank wall.

"Uhh..Pureblood?" he said tentatively. "Purity?...Pure-incest?" 'I'm an idiot' he thought as he remembered the pendant of Hogwarts.

"As master of Hogwarts I command the Slytherin password to forever be 'Praise be to Potter'" Harry looked around and saw nothing different.

"Praise be to Potter!" He yelled at the stone in front of him. He heard a grating sound and saw the stone move way about thirty feet away. Somehow he knew that Hogwarts was laughing at him.

Harry entered the Slytherin Dormitory and excitedly looked around. The answer to defeating Riddle could be in here. Everyone knew that knowledge was power and if he had knowledge that Voldemort didn't have then he also had power that he 'knows not'. After looking for an hour, Harry was ready to give up. He hadn't seen any sign of it, and figured that if it was there, Voldemort would have surely found it in the seven years of living there. Disappointed, he trudged back to the Chamber of Secrets and froze as he walked past the first door. 'Duh!' he thought 'he meant the _original_ Slytherin Dormitory!'

He pushed the door open and looked around. There, on the closest desk was a book. It was titled _A Complete History of Parseltounge_. That was amazing in and of itself, but what made it truly extraordinary was that it was in written in English…


End file.
